(upbeat music) - Hey everyone, Steve Adubato.

We kick off this edition of "One-on-One" talking about the arts, part of our "Arts Connection" miniseries.

Rebecca Pauline Jampol is with us.

She is the co-director of Project for Empty Space, the website will be up.

Rebecca, so good to have you with us, thank you.

- Yeah, nice to be here, thank you for having me.

- Well, as folks are poking on the website and trying to find out more, tell them exactly what Project for Empty Space is and why it's so significant, particularly in the city of Newark.

- So, Project for Empty Space is an almost 16-year-old arts nonprofit that has four different locations, our biggest footprint being here in Newark, New Jersey.

We have a small space in Chinatown in Manhattan and a traveling exhibition truck that was retrofitted into a 27-foot exhibition space.

And our work is primarily around artists that have a social practice, who work with communities to create bodies of work.

And that is materialized through exhibitions, residencies, and public art.

- What is it about Newark and the arts from your perspective?

I mean, you understand New York City, Chinatown, you understand other places.

What makes Newark and the arts connect?

- Great question.

I actually moved here almost 20 years ago.

I was a student at Rutgers University, Newark, and I was studying the arts and I fell deeply in love with the artistic community here.

And I think the thing that really makes it quite special is the history of the arts in the city.

There's a long history of the arts, but the arts being used as a form of resistance and empowerment.

- Hold on one second.

What does that mean?

- What does that mean?

- The arts as a form of resistance.

- I mean, it is no secret that arts and activism are these two things that can work in tandem.

And when we think about the arts, they can be vehicles for social change.

And the arts in particular, particularly socially-engaged arts, can do things like give community voices.

We have exhibitions that are designed with community around things that are really important to, you know, Newark and beyond.

We do public art, which is created alongside community, with community, where narratives that are both within households and, you know, outside in our neighborhoods can be elevated to these large-scale visuals that live within our communities and we feel seen and larger than life.

So, when I say resistance, it's also these forms of giving everyday people that are walking through our neighborhoods, that are investing in our cities, a voice on a large scale, and we can do that through the arts.

- Arts in Newark and the economy of the city, the urban economy.

Talk about that.

- The arts in Newark are actually the biggest driver of traffic to the city of Newark.

There was a study that was done for Essex County looking at Newark in particularly, and 800 people were interviewed and they were asked, "Why do you go to Newark?"

And the arts was the biggest driver of it.

People want to be a part of these arts and culture spaces.

They want to see art.

They want to be around, you know, vibrancy and want to walk streets and see murals and be in restaurants where art is hanging on the walls Artists are some of the biggest economic drivers, not only because they're creating visuals and opportunities to feel enlivened, but there also are people that live in spaces that pay taxes, that eat food.

- That's right.

Pay rent.

If they don't own, they pay rent.

- Exactly, and they actually are one of the only groups that have two rents because they're paying for a studio.

And so, one of the things that Project for Empty Space does is we have a location in downtown Newark, it's about 50,000 square feet, and we offer subsidized artist studios.

Artists are not only paying a first rent or a mortgage, but they are also paying a second one.

And a lot of times that is not understood or valued.

And I think here in Newark, there's resources that really enable artists to thrive and understand the undertaking that they have, not only as culture makers and, you know, these critical parts of our city, but as some of our largest economic drivers.

- You know, it's so interesting how people very often out in the suburbs and other places have this perception of Newark.

And I'm not sure how many folks would connect Newark to the arts.

For you, before you went to Rutgers, Newark, before you saw what the city is really about and how strong the arts history and culture is of the city, do you think you would've thought that about Newark, New Jersey, and the arts?

- I mean, that's a really good question, and I think it's a tired narrative at this point.

- It's very tired.

- Yeah.

When I first moved here, there was no Prudential Center.

The reason why I fell in love with the city is because artists were the folks that were really inhabiting the spaces.

There was warehouses that were being activated by artists for their studios or for art exhibition spaces.

They were the ones that were creating this opportunity for gathering when there was no core downtown.

And so, artists have always been here.

Whether they were visible or not, they have always been here and have been the center of this city.

Our mayor, Mayor Ras Baraka, his family has a legacy of the arts here in Newark.

You know, it was the Spirit House that brought people together for street theater and for discussions and dialogue and education at one point, and so the arts are... You know, perhaps now we're hearing more stories about it or because there's more activity here, they are empowered through resources, so elevate it and there's visibility around it.

But I think the narratives around Newark at this point, if you still feel that way, you are not, you know, doing justice to yourself by not being acquainted with the city.

You're not reading about it, you're not listening about what's happening here.

Every city has an opportunity, every place has an opportunity to rebuild, and there is a real rebuilding moment now.

What I would hope for Newark as it goes through that rebuilding stage is that they create staying power for the arts, and I do think that's part of the master plan.

- And that's exactly why we're doing "The Arts Connection," is to create greater public awareness.

Rebecca, thank you so much for joining us, we appreciate it.

- No problem.

Thanks for having me.

- You got it.

Stay with us, we'll be right back.

- [Narrator] One-On-One with Steve Adubato is a production of the Caucus Educational Corporation.

Funding has been provided by The Fidelco Group.

PSE&G.

The New Jersey Economic Development Authority.

Delta Dental of New Jersey.

EJI, Excellence in Medicine Awards.

A New Jersey health foundation program.

RWJBarnabas Health.

Learn More at RWJBH.org.

NJ Transit.

New Jersey Sharing Network.

And by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Promotional support provided by The Chamber of Commerce Southern New Jersey.

And by Insider NJ.

- (Soft music) - (Softly)Is that?

- Wow.

(Children laughing) - (Softly) It’s gonna be okay.